Batman’s Proposal To Catwoman (Batman #24) The History Behind The Story

Hi there, it’s JDOC here with a special report. With the recent release of Batman 24:Rebirth this Wednesday in comic stores nationwide, written by Tom King- spoiler:

Bruce proposes to Selina on a Gotham City rooftop.

This isn’t the first time that he has actually proposed to her.If you happen to look back on Batman’s 76 year history,you’ll notice that he did indeed propose to Selina Kyle aka Catwoman previously. Prior to the end of the original multiverse in Crisis On Infinite Earths (now restored outside the 52 universe new multiverse as shown in the Convergence miniseries back in 2015), on the world known as Earth 2, in a retconned story in Brave And The Bold vol.1, issue 197,by Alan Brennert and Joe Staton, the Earth 2 Batman, writing in his diary, tells the tale of how he married the Earth 2 Catwoman after they both fought the Earth 2 Scarecrow and their rivalry of over 15 years(Starting back in Batman Vol.1 issue 1,1940). The reason for their team-up: Scarecrow used fear gas on Batman,the effects of which made his greatest fear come to life:Those he loved the most disappeared before his eyes,even though that wasn’t the case (The gas causing everyone whom he knew to not be able to communicate with him as they ‘faded away’). He was then forced to look up Selina, the only person not affected by the gas’s effects, in prison, whom he knew. As they tried to capture the Scarecrow, Selina’s and Bruce’s love for each other began to surface, eventually causing Selina to reveal that her amnesia was faked,and why she became Catwoman in the first place: A result of domestic abuse from her first husband, whom she then divorced,and in retaliation he attempted to ruin her both mentally and financially. In retaliation,she stole all of his wealth that she could, turning her in the notorious thief, the Cat (First appearing in Batman (Vol.1-1940 series) issue 1). Eventually Scarecrow was caught by both of them, and the rest they say is history.

This marriage would later lead to them having a daughter: Helena,in 1957, who in turn would later become the second Huntress on Earth 2(The first one being villainess Paula Brooks Crock, married to Crusher Crock aka villain The Sportsmaster). This was also briefly touched on at the beginning of DC Superstars issue 17, showing as retcon, scenes from the wedding, and also covered as retcon in Superman Family 211,as the Earth 2 Superman reveals his secret identity to Selina, as Lois and Bruce are present. With the 52 multiverse post Infinite Crisis, the marriage was carried over onto this world’s Earth 2 as well, and continued in the Earth 2 series during the ‘New 52’ era.

So there you have it in a nutshell.Now the question remains: Will this Selina actually accept Bruce’s proposal(which he did in the wake of the recent ending of ‘The Button’ 4 part story in Batman 21 and 22,and Flash 21 and 22, as Bruce’s father Thomas, from the Flashpoint timeline told Bruce to enjoy life before that timeline was erased (presumably by Dr. Manhattan), and not be Batman because he needs to be Batman to avenge their deaths in the normal timeline.He needs to be happy first and foremost), or will she reject it? Only time will tell after the next upcoming storyline: The War of Jokes And Riddles, beginning in Batman 25, is finished. I hope you enjoyed this brief history behind the proposal,and as always this is JDOC signing off. Til next time,have fun, read comics, and always look up back issues for histories behind current stories if they exist to learn their histories.

JDOC is a longtime comic geek whose love for comics and classic animation (WB/HB/ MGM/Disney) knows no bounds. Hes been to many conventions in Florida over the years since the early 90's, including Megacon since 2003.